Folding door installation and sliding guide therefor



United States Patent Kenneth K. Kellen! Costa Mesa, California 859,076

Sept. 18, 1969 Oct. 27, 19 70 Acme General Corporation Monrovia,California a corporation of California [72] Inventor [21 1 Appl. No.[22] Filed [45] Patented [73] Assignee [54] FOLDING DOOR INSTALLATIONAND SLIDING Primary ExaminerDavid J. Williamowsky AssistantExaminerPhilip C. Kannan Altomey-Harris, Kiech, Russell and KernABSTRACT: A sliding guide for the lead or guide door of a set of foldingdoors. The guide is slidable along an overhead track and carries twoaligned, longitudinally spaced coil springs acting in compression andreceiving therebetween an upstanding guide pin adjacent the leading edgeof the guide door. When the guide encounters a stop at either end of itstravel along the track, the guide pin compresses the correspondingspring to bring the doors to a cushioned stop when opening them and tosnug the doors closed when closing them.

The pivoted or jamb door of the set carries adjacent its pivot edge anupstanding pivot pin identical to the aforementioned guide pin. Thus,the set of doors may be pivoted on either the left or the right sidewithout modification.

Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,120

Sheet 1 of 2 Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,120

Sheet 2 of 2 Jiww way, fissszz 'ilKse/v FOLDING DOOR INSTALLATION ANDSLIDING GUIDE THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The present inventionrelates in general to a folding door installation and to a guide for thelead or guide door of such an installation.

As shown in US. Pat. No. 3,162,890, issued Dec. 29, I964 to RobertBrydolf and Council A. Tucker, and in copending application Ser. No.781,695, filed Nov. 29, I968 by Robert Brydolf and me and assigned tothe same assignee as thi application, a folding door installation of thetype to which the present invention relates typically includes anoverhead track means comprising a downwardly facing, generallychannelshaped track. The pivoted door of the set of folding doors isprovided adjacent its vertical pivoted edge with aligned upstanding anddepending upper and lower pivot pins respectively inserted into andpivotally engaging upper and lower pivot brackets, the upper pivotbracket being secured to the track means and being disposed in thechannel-shaped track, and the lower pivot bracket being suitably securedto the adjacent door jamb, or to the floor. The lead or guide door isprovided adjacent its vertical leading edge with an upstanding guideaxle carrying a horizontal guide wheel engageable with the sides of thechannel-shaped track to guide the leading edge of the lead door alongthe track. The upper and lower pivot pins adjacent the pivoted edge ofthe pivoted door and the upper guide axle adjacent the leading edge ofthe guide door are preferably set in vertical bores drilled in thecorresponding horizontal edges of the respective doors in the mannerdisclosed in the aforementioned copending application filed by RobertBrydolf and me.

In prior folding door installations of the foregoing type, a suitableresilient means is typically carried by the track means and disposed inthe channelshaped track in the path of the guide wheel. The latterencounters this resilient means just before termination of closingmovement of the set of doors, and yieldably retards closing movement asthe set of doors approaches its closed position, so as to bring the setof doors to a cushioned stop, and to snug the set of doors in its closedpositron.

It will be noted that, with the foregoing prior construction, the upperpivot pin adjacent the pivoted edge of the pivoted door and the wheeledupper guide axle adjacent the leading edge of the guide door limit theinstallation to a particular hand". In other words, the set of foldingdoors must be pivoted at either its left-hand vertical edge or itsright-hand vertical edge, and reversal cannot be achieved once the doorsare drilled because they are frequently drilled unsymmetrically, thisbeing necessary in many installations to so locate the guide wheel as toprevent the set of doors from becoming locked open when fully opened.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF INVENTION With the foregoing background in view,a primary object of the present invention is to provide a folding doorinstallation wherein the upper edge of the guide door is providedadjacent its vertical leading edge with an upstanding guide pinidentical in structure, position and installation to the upstandingupper pivot pin installed in the upper edge of the pivoted door adjacentits vertical pivoted edge, and to provide the guide pin with a guidewhich permits symmetrical drilling of the doors. With this construction,since the guide pin and the upper pivot pin are identical andidentically located and installed, the set of folding doors isreversible as to hand. In other words, either door may be the pivoteddoor, or the guide door, without any modification of the two upstandingupper pins, either as to structure, location, or installation, which isan important feature of the invention.

With the foregoing construction, the horizontal edges of the pivoted andlead doors of the set may be drilled identically to eliminate errors.The identical upper pivot and upper guide pim are then imtalled in thedrilled holes in the upper edges of the two doors, either of which maybe the pivoted door, or the guide door. Which door becomes the pivoteddoor is determined by installing the lower pivot pin in the hole drilledin the lower edge thereof. The hole drilled in the lower edge of theother door is simply not used. Thus, drilling of the necessary holes andinstallation of the two pivot pins and the guide pin therein are geatlysimplified, which is an important feature of the invention.

Considering the invention more specifically now, an important objectthereof is to provide a guide for the upstanding guide pin adjacent theleading edge of the guide door, which is disposed in and slidable alongthe channel-shaped track and which is retained therein by the guide pin.With this construction, it is merely necessary during irmtallation toinsert the upstanding guide pin into the sliding guide, and to insertthe sliding guide into the channel-shaped track which is m1 importantfeature of the invention.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a guide of theforegoing nature which carries spring means engageable with the guidepin inserted thereinto for yieldably retarding movement of the set ofdoors as they approach their open positions and to snug the doorsclosed. More particularly, an object in this connection is to providespaced stops on the channel-shaped track corresponding to the open andclosed positions of the set of doors, the spring means yieldablyretarding movement of the set of doors upon engagement of the guide witheither of these stops. Each stop my be an abutment in the track such asa screw, nail, or other obstruction, expresly provided for the purpose.However, the upper pivot bracket may be used as the opening movementstop, and a sliding guide associated with another set of doors on thesame track, in a double installation, may be used for the closingmovement stop.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sliding guide ofthe foregoing nature wherein the spring means comprises tvvo coilsprings in compression married by the guide on opposite sides of andengaging the guide pin and respectively compresible upon engagement ofthe guide with its stops.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a guide conformingexternally to the track along which it slides and provided therein witha longitudinally extending channel containing the two coil springs inaxial alignment, the guide pin being inserted between the two springs.

A further object is to provide means on the guide for spacing thesprings apart longitudinally of their channel to facilitate insertion ofthe guide pin therebetween, the spacing preferably being less than theguide pin diameter so that the springs hold the guide or the guide pinto facilitate installation of the guide in the track when installing theset of doors.

An additional object is to provide a sliding guide having a longitudinalchannel which is arcuate in cross section and which has an angularextent of more than I so as to retain the two spring therein, thesprings being initially insertable into their channel by temporarydeformation of the guide and/or springs.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a sliding guide havingintennediate its ends and on opposite sides thereof arcuate bearingsurfaces concentric about the axis of the guide pin and respectivelyengageable with the sides of the channel-shaped track with substantiallyline contact. With this construction, the sliding guide may pivotslightly about the vertical guide pin axis to prevent binding in thetrack.

Still another object is to provide a sliding guide of sufi'rcient lengthto engage the upper pivot bracket, or other stop, during opening of theset of doors, before the set of doors is opened far enough to be lockedopen. This permits locating the guide pin hole in the same relativeposition as the upper pivot pin hole so that the doors can be drilledidentically, which is an important feature.

While the hereinbefore-described sliding guide of the inven tion, withits coil springs capable of acting on a guide element inserted therebetween to cushion both door closing movement and door opening movement,is particularly useful in connection with a set of folding doors, it mayalso under some circumstances be used in connection with a sliding door.

The foregoing objects, advantages, features and results of the presentinvention, together with various other objects, advantages, features andresults thereof which will be evident to those skilled in the art towhich the invention relates in the light of this disclosure, may beachieved with the exemplary embodiment of the invention described indetail hereinafter and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a doorwayequipped with a double set of folding doors each incorporating thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partially in vertical sectionand partially in elevation, showing one of the sets of folding doors ofFIG. 1 and a fragment of the other;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship betweenan upper pivot pin and an upper pivot bracket, and the relationshipbetween an upper guide pin and and a sliding guide, of the set offolding doors shown in FIG. 2',

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the slidingguide and a channel-shaped track in which it is disposed, FIG. 4 beingtaken along the arrowed line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the arrowed line 5-5 ofFIG. 4', and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated by the arrowedline 6-6 of FIG. 5 of the drawin DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT OFINVENTION Referring initially to FIG. I of the drawings, illustratedtherein is a wall provided with a doorway 22 bounded by a header 24,jambs 26 and 28, and a floor 30. Within the doorway 22 are a pair 32 offolding doors 34 and 36 and a pair 38 of folding doors 40 and 42. Thetwo pairs 32 and 38 are identi cal, except that one is a mirror image ofthe other, both pairs being identically installed. Consequently, thedescription which follows will be restricted to the pair 32 as a matterof convenience.

Considering the pair 32 more specifically, the doors 34 and 36 arehinged together along their adjacent vertical edges by suitable hinges46, preferably in the manner disclosed in the aforementionedBrydolfTucker patent to achieve a toggle joint which moves over centeras the doors 34 and 36 are closed, thereby holding them in their closedpositions when snugged closed by the invention in the manner hereinafterdescribed.

Spanning the doorway 22, and secured to the header 24, as by screws 48,is an overhead track means 50. As disclosed in the aforementionedKellems-Brydolf application, this track means includes twolaterally-spaced, parallel, depending flanges 52 connected by atransverse web means 54 and cooperating therewith to form below the webmeans a downwardly-facing, channel-shaped track 56. The upper side ofthe track 56 is defined by laterally inwardly extending flanges 57integral with the flanges S2.

Disposed in the track 56 adjacent the jamb 26, and suitably secured tothe track means 50, is an upper pivot bracket 58 providing a pivotsocket 60. Secured to the jamb 26 and the floor 30 below the upper pivotbracket 58 is a lower pivot bracket 62 providing a pivot socket 64aligned with the upper pivot socket 60. The pivot brackets 58 and 62 maybe identical as to structure and installation to the corresponding pivotbrackets of the aforementioned Kellems-Brydolf application.

The door 34, hereinafter referred to as the pivoted or jamb door, isprovided in its upper and lower edges, and adjacent a vertical edge 66thereof, with upper and lower drilled bores or holes 68 and 70. Driveninto the upper and lower holes 68 and 70 are upper and lower pivotassemblies 72 and 74 respective- Iy providing upstanding and dependingupper and lower pivots or pivot pins 76 and 78 extending into the upperand lower pivot sockets 60 and 64. The upper and lower pivot assemblies72 and 74 are respectively similar to the upper and lower pivotassemblies 66 and 68 of the aforementioned Kellems-Brydolf application,and are installed in substantially the same way. Consequently, they neednot be described in detail herein.

The door 36 is a lead or guide door which is provided in its upper edge,adjacent a vertical edge 80 thereof, with a drilled bore or hole 82located the same distance from the edge 80 as the hole 68 is from theedge 66. Driven into the hole 82 is an assembly 84 which issubstantially identical to the assembly 72 and which includes anupstanding guide pin 86 at least substantially identical to, andpreferably identical to, the upper pivot pin 76. Thus, either the pivotpin 76 or the guide pin 86 may be inserted into the upper pivot socket60 so that either of the doors 34 and 36 may be the jamb door or theguide door. Alternatively, the guide pin 86 may be inserted into anupper pivot bracket, not shown, adjacent the other jamb 28 so that thedoor pair 32 is pivoted adjacent the right-hand side of the doorway,instead of the left-hand side. Thus, making the assemblies 72 and 84identical and identically located permits making the door pair 32 ofeither hand, it being necessary only to install the lower pivot assembly74 in alignment with whichever one of the assemblies 72 and 84 is to bethe pivot assembly, the other of these then becoming a guide assembly,as hereinafter discussed.

In view of the foregoing, the door 36 is preferably provided in itslower edge with a drilled hole 88 in alignment with the hole 82. In theparticular installation illustrated, the hole 88 is not used, but itcould receive the lower pivot assembly 74 if it were desired to make thedoor 36 the jamb door, instead of the door 34. It will be understoodthat, in volume production, it is cheaper to drill the upper and loweredges of both doors of each pair rather than drill them differently andmaintain separate stocks of both. By drilling the doors alike and usingidentical upper assemblies 72 and 84, the presence or absence of thelower assembly 74 determines whether a particular door is a jamb door ora guide door, which is an imponant feature of the invention.

In the particular installation illustrated, the pin 86 is a guide pinand extends upwardly into and engages a sliding guide 90 disposed in andslidable longitudinally of the track 56 to guide the leading edge of theguide door 36. The sliding guide 90, which may be molded from a suitablelow friction plastic material, is elongated longitudinally of the track56 and is provided on opposite sides thereof and intermediate its endswith external, arcuate convex bearing surfaces 92, FIGS. 3, 4 and 5,concentric with the guide pin 86 and engageable with the flanges 52forming the sides of the track 56 with substantially line contact tominimize friction. With this construction, the sliding guide 90 canpivot slightly about the axis of the guide pin 86 as required to preventbinding during longitudinal movement of the sliding guide along thetrack 56. The sides of the guide 90 are provided at their ends withnarrow, rounded edge surfaces 91, FIGS. 3 and 5, which also engage thesides of the track 56 with substantially line contact to minimize friction.

The top of the guide 90 is provided intermediate its ends on oppositesides thereof with rounded corners 93, FIG. 4, engageable with the trackflanges 57 with substantially point contact, it being understood that aspring, not shown, in the guide assembly 84 biases the guide pin 86upwardly to hold the guide 90 against the flanges 57. The corners 93permit the guide 9|] to rock about a transverse horizontal axisintersecting the guide pin axis to further any binding tendency. The topof the guide 90 is provided at its ends with narrow, rounded surfaces95, FIGS. 3 and 4, engageable with the track flanges 57 with small areacontact to reduce friction.

The sliding guide 90 carries spring means 94 engaging the guide pin 86for yieldably retarding opening movement of the doors 34 and 36 uponengagement of the sliding guide with a stop 96, FIG. 2, in the path ofthe sliding guide, and for snugging the doors closed upon engagement ofthe guide with another stop 98. Conveniently, the stop 96 is formed bythe upper pivot bracket 58 and the stop 98 is formed by another slidingguide 100 associated with the guide door 42 of the other pair 38.However, other stops may be used in both instances. For example. a nailmay be driven through the track into the header as the stop 98.

The spring means 94 comprises two longitudinally extending, axiallyaligned coil springs 102 and 104 which act in compression and whichreceive the guide pin 86 therebetween. The two springs 102 and 104 arecontained in a longitudinally extending inverted channel 106 formed inthe sliding guide 90, such channel having an arcuate cross sectionconforming to the springs. As best shown in FIG. 4. the channel 106 hasan angular extent of somewhat more than 180 so that it retains thesprings 102 and 104 therein. The springs may be snapped into the channel106. the material of which the sliding guide 90 is made preferably beingsufficiently flexible to permit this.

To facilitate insertion of the guide pin 86 between the springs 102 and104. the sliding guide 90 is provided within the channel 106, midwaybetween its ends. with two laterally spaced bosses 108 on opposite sidesof the channel and a boss 110 at the top of the inverted channel. Thesebosses extend into the channel sufficiently to maintain the adjacentends of the springs 102 and 104 spaced apart a distance slightly lessthan the diameter of the upper end of the guide pin 86. This facilitatesinsertion of the guide pin and, at the same time. the springs 102' and104 bear against the guide pin at all times to prevent rattling.Further, the springs 102 and 104 hold the guide 90 on the guide pin 86to facilitate inserting the guide in the track 56 when installing thedoors. Additionally. the bosses 108 and 110 insure that the guide 90 isbiased by the springs 102 and 104 toward a centered position relative tothe pin 86 when the set of doors is fully open. thus preventinginadvertent locking open of the set because of too close an ap proach ofthe guide door 36 to the jamb door 34. The lateral bosses 108 also actas lateral bearing surfaces for the guide pin 86. while the upper boss110 acts as a thrust bearing surface.

Considering the operation of the sliding guide 90, it will be apparentthat it slides back and forth along the track 56 as the doors 34 and 36are opened and closed. When the doors 34 and 36 are closed, the slidingguide 90 engages the stop 98. as shown in FIG. 2. thereby causing theguide pin 86 to compress the spring [04. This has the effect ofcushioning the closing movement of the doors 34 and 36. Moreimportantly, the spring 104 snugs the door set 32 closed. 11s.. itmaintains a load on the toggle joint formed by the two doors 34 and 36to prevent accidental opening thereof. During opening movement of thedoors 34 and 36. the guide pin 86 compresses the spring 102, uponengagement of the sliding guide 90 with the stop 96, to cushion openingengagement.

The guide 90 is of sufficient length that. when it engages the stop 96,it prevents too close an approach of the guide door 36 to the jamb door34. thereby preventing locking of the set 32 of doors open. However, ifadditional opening of the set 32 is desired, as to improve access to anend of a closet. the door 36 can be forced closer to the door 34 withonly the effort required to compress the spring 102, which normallyholds the guide pin 86 at the center of the guide 90 to prevent lockingthe doors open.

As will be apparent. the sliding guide 90 may be used with the guide pin86. or the pivot pin 76, depending on whether the left-hand edge or theright-hand edge of the door pair 32 is to be the pivoted edge. Aspreviously discussed, this avoids making and stocking left-hand andright-hand pairs, which is an important feature of the invention.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosed forpurposes of illustration. it will be understood that various changes,modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in such embodimentwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

lclaim:

1. In combination:

a. a track;

b. spaced stops on said track;

c. a guide engaging and movable along said track between said stops;

d. a door movable longitudinally of said track and having a guideelement; and

e. spring means carried by said guide and engaging said guide elementand yieldable upon engagement of said guide with either of said stops.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said spring meanscomprises two coil springs in compression carried by said guide onopposite sides of and engaging said guide element and respectivelycompressible upon engagement of said guide with said stops.

3. In combination:

a. a downwardly facing, channel-shaped track;

b. spaced stops in said track;

c. a guide in and movable along said track between said stops;

d. a door movable longitudinally of said track and having an upstandingguide pin;

e. two aligned. longitudinally spaced coil springs in compressioncarried by said guide and engaging opposite sides of said guide pin andrespectively compressible upon engagement of said guide with said stops;and

f. two arcuate bearing surfaces on opposite sides of said guideintermediate the ends thereof and respectively engageable with the sidesof said track, said bearing surfaces being coaxial with said guide pin.

4. ln a device for guiding a door having a guide element along a track,the combination of:

a. an elongated guide conforming to and movable along the track; and

b. spring means united by said guide and engageable with the guideelement for biasing the guide element longitudinally of said guide inopposite directions.

5. In a device for guiding a door having a guide pin along a track, thecombination of:

a. an elongated guide having a channel extending longitudinally thereof;

b. said guide having an external cross section conforming to said trackand being slidable therealong'. and

c. two coil springs in and extending longitudinally of said channel andcapable of receiving the guide pin therebetween upon axial compresion ofsaid springs 6. A device as set forth in claim 5 including means on saidguide for spacing said springs apart longitudinally of said channel tofacilitate insertion of the guide pin therebetween.

7 A device according to claim 5 wherein said channel is arcuate in crosssection and has an angular extent of more than to retain said springstherein.

8. A device as defined in claim 5 for guiding the door along a trackwhich is generally channel-shaped in cross section. and wherein saidguide is provided intermediate its ends and on opposite sides thereofwith arcuate bearing surfaces concentric about the axis of the guide pinand respectively engageable with the sides of the channel-shaped trackwith substantially line contact.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein said guide is providedintermediate its ends and on opposite sides thereof with cornersengageable with said track with substantially point contact.

10. [n a folding door installation for a doorway. the com bination of:

a. a downwardly facing, channel-shaped track extending across the top ofthe doorway;

b. a pivot bracket at one side of the doorway in alignment with saidtrack;

c. an elongated guide in and slidable along said track between saidpivot bracket and the other side of the doorway;

d. two doors having hingedly interconnected vertical edges;

e. two identical upstanding pins respectively carried by said doorsadjacent the vertical edges thereof opposite their hingedlyinterconnected edges;

h. spring means carried by said guide, and engaging that one of saidpins which extends into said guide, for biasing that pin in oppositedirections longitudinally of said track.

